Growing Up
by hulklinging
Summary: Cassie isn't expecting to see Chase on her doorstep, a few months after she comes back. Still, here he is.


Cassie has been back a month when there's a knock on the door.

She's not sure what she expects. A teammate, maybe? She called Kate, sent Billy a freaking email, but she's been too nervous to see anyone face to face.

But it's not Billy or Teddy or Kate at the door for her. It's not the overly friendly next door neighbour, either. It's a big blonde boy, sporting a mohawk and a sheepish expression.

"Hey," he says, and his voice is familiar. "I hope it's okay that I came by. I was in the neighbourhood, or whatever."

"Chase?" She ask, finally placing the voice. One of the Runaways. They'd teamed up with them twice, once during the anti-registration protests, again when the Skrulls invaded. She hadn't interacted with him one-on-one, but Jonas... Jonas had liked him. "What are you doing here?"

She lets him in. Her mother is at work, and maybe she should be more cautious, letting an almost-stranger into her house when she's home alone, but although Chase is bigger and older she has never found him particularly intimidating. She was practically an Avenger. It takes a lot to intimidate her.

"Like I said. In the neighbourhood."

She can tell by his tone that is absolute bullshit, but lets him have his lie. She bustles around the kitchen, still getting used to where everything is. "Cool. Do you want something? I was just about to make lunch." Breakfast, actually, but it's half past one and she doesn't want to admit she just woke up.

"Sure! Yeah. That sounds great." He perches on a chair, looking out of place in her mother's starkly clean kitchen. "Thanks."

"No problem." Making eggs is easy enough, but still requires her to spend the next few minutes focused on the food, and not why this old acquaintance has shown up on her doorstep. It isn't until she puts his plate in front of him and sits down with her own that she realizes this means they're now stuck eating together.

Chase digs in like he hasn't had a good meal in a while. Maybe he hasn't. He's a long way from LA and any of the other Runaways, that's for sure. Is he on his own now? Cassie vaguely recalls reading something about a few of the Pride kids getting involved in some murder game, but she can't remember if Chase was one of them. She's had a lot of catching up to do, and some things have stuck more than others.

"As much as I appreciate the hello-"

"I'm sorry about the Vision," he blurts out. "I heard about that. That blows. He was a cool dude. And I'm sorry about you dying, too. I think we sent a card, or something."

"Thanks," she says, because she's not sure what else to say.

"You know, my girlfriend died. Before we met you guys. She died saving my ass. It sucked. Sucks."

"Yeah." Because what else is there to say?

He puts down his fork and stares at her. She looks back at him, unsure what he wants. He doesn't look like he knows, either.

"Do you... do you remember any of it?"

"What?"

"Being dead. Like, how was it."

"How was being dead?" It's such a bizarre question, and it also feels intensely personal. His ears go red at the tips.

"Shit, sorry. Thanks for the food, Cassie. Sorry for bugging you. I'm glad you're back, and looking good. Alright. Swell?" He's standing up, grabbing his jacket, and Cassie is still frozen.

"Wait, Chase!"

He stops. She's standing up, hands braced on the table. She doesn't really remember deciding to stop him, but she did. She has to say something, now.

"I don't remember it, really. But it wasn't... bad. Okay?" She meets his eyes, her smile one of understanding, now. Because the look in his eyes is why he came, this half-crazed need to hear that everything is alright. When was the last time he'd heard that?

"Okay." He says, in an almost reverent whisper. "Okay. Um. That's good." And he smiles, a silly smile that even manages to reach his eyes. "That's good to hear." He takes a breath, and the intense moment has passed. Cassie grabs their plates, brings them to the counter, and he surprises her by taking them out of her hands, and starting to wash them. "Nico died, a little while back, but it was really quick, she came right back, and everything was all dark and spooky. Also, it was kinda my fault, so she wasn't really up for any questions." He says it so casually, and Cassie takes a plate, drying it, and wonders at the kind of lives they live. Well, lived, for her. She's done with the superheroing. For real.

Probably.

The dishes are done. "I'm going to head out," Chase says, and Cassie nods.

"You're welcome to stop by again, if you want. If you're in the neighbourhood."

He laughs, because he probably was nowhere near the neighbourhood, but that's okay. "Yeah. For sure."

She walks him to the door. There's a motorcycle in front of her house.

"Yours?"

He nods. "Hey, Cassie? You're glad you're back, right?"

Another questions she wasn't expecting. She wants to say Yes! immediately, because of course she is, but that isn't what Chase wants, and she can speak honestly with him. She thinks of her parents' faces. She thinks of the confusion she's felt, the anxiety, the feeling that she's always a step behind. She remembers Kate's voice, over the phone, laughing through tears.

"...yeah. I am." She says finally, firmly. "It's hard sometimes, but that's life, I guess?"

"Awesome."He shrugs on his jacket, walks out the door, and she's about to close it behind him when he turns back towards it. "You remember the Cube?"

She has nightmares about it still. "Yes." Of course she does.

"Me and Vision like..." he waves his arms a bit. "Did a cool combo thing, for a minute or two."

She remembers seeing that.

"And after we separated, I still had some of his feelings and stuff." This she didn't know. "I remember thinking _'Wow, Cassie is the most beautiful girl in the world.'_ "

Her throat closes up. She nods, her eyes stinging.

Chase grins at her. "He loved you a lot. You know that, right?"

"I do." She wipes at her eyes, embarrassed, but there's no judgement from the boy in front of her. "Thanks, Chase."

He waves away her thanks, gets on his bike. "No need to thank me. I... I know, you know?"

He drives off, and she shuts the door. Yeah. She knows.

She sees him at least once a month. Never much warning, but she always invites him in. They talk about anything, everything. Sometimes they watch a movie. He hasn't really seen anything that's come out in the last few years, and she has some catching up to do too, so they catch up together. Her mother doesn't like him, but he doesn't mind.

"Parents never like me," he says, with a wink and a grin.

He calls her kid and ruffles her hair, and she sometimes wonders when the last time he saw Molly was, or the rest of his family. But she doesn't pry, just like he doesn't ask how Eli is doing, or when she saw Kate last.

She won't ever admit it, but she thinks of him as a brother. She won't say it, but she thinks he knows.

"See you around, kid," he says, driving away again. She closes the door, and knows he'll be back. For people like them, that's more than enough.


End file.
